William Frederick May (October 25, 1915 – September 18, 2011) was an American chemical engineer, businessman and co-founder of the Film Society of Lincoln Center. [1] [2]
May was born in Chicago in 1915 and raised in the suburb of Oak Park. [2] He graduated from Oak Park High School and earned a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from the University of Rochester in 1937. [1] He pursued graduate studies at both the University of Chicago and the Illinois Institute of Technology. [1]
In the 1930s, May joined DuPont as part of a research team which developed the first rust-proof paint. [1] [2] He was hired by the American Can Company in 1940, based in a laboratory in Maywood, Illinois. [2] May became head of the American Can Company and shepherded the company through fifteen years of expansion and growth from 1965. [1] He spearheaded American Can Company's relocation of its corporate headquarters to Greenwich, Connecticut, in 1972. [2]
May was elected to the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts' board of directors in 1967. [1] He was tasked with establishing a new film department for Lincoln Center. [1] He worked as the program's chief fundraiser, while two other members of the committee handled artistic contributions, Richard Roud and Amos Vogel, both of whom founded the New York Film Festival. [1] However, Lincoln Center withdrew financial support from the committee in 1968 due to financial woes. [1] May searched for new financial donors. In 1969, May and two Lincoln Center executives, Schuyler G. Chapin and Martin E. Segal, co-founded the Film Society of Lincoln Center. [1]
May retired from the American Can Company in 1980. [2] He served as the dean of what is now called the New York University Stern School of Business for four years. [1] [2] He later became the chief executive of the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, eventually becoming chairman emeritus in 2006. [2]
William May died on September 18, 2011, in Greenwich, Connecticut, where he resided since 1970, at the age of 95. [1] Before moving to Greenwich, he and his family had lived in nearby Chappaqua, New York. [2] He was survived by his wife, Kathleen; two daughters; four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. [2]
William Frederick May (October 25, 1915 – September 18, 2011) was an American chemical engineer, businessman and co-founder of the Film Society of Lincoln Center. [1] [2]
May was born in Chicago in 1915 and raised in the suburb of Oak Park. [2] He graduated from Oak Park High School and earned a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from the University of Rochester in 1937. [1] He pursued graduate studies at both the University of Chicago and the Illinois Institute of Technology. [1]
In the 1930s, May joined DuPont as part of a research team which developed the first rust-proof paint. [1] [2] He was hired by the American Can Company in 1940, based in a laboratory in Maywood, Illinois. [2] May became head of the American Can Company and shepherded the company through fifteen years of expansion and growth from 1965. [1] He spearheaded American Can Company's relocation of its corporate headquarters to Greenwich, Connecticut, in 1972. [2]
May was elected to the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts' board of directors in 1967. [1] He was tasked with establishing a new film department for Lincoln Center. [1] He worked as the program's chief fundraiser, while two other members of the committee handled artistic contributions, Richard Roud and Amos Vogel, both of whom founded the New York Film Festival. [1] However, Lincoln Center withdrew financial support from the committee in 1968 due to financial woes. [1] May searched for new financial donors. In 1969, May and two Lincoln Center executives, Schuyler G. Chapin and Martin E. Segal, co-founded the Film Society of Lincoln Center. [1]
May retired from the American Can Company in 1980. [2] He served as the dean of what is now called the New York University Stern School of Business for four years. [1] [2] He later became the chief executive of the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, eventually becoming chairman emeritus in 2006. [2]
William May died on September 18, 2011, in Greenwich, Connecticut, where he resided since 1970, at the age of 95. [1] Before moving to Greenwich, he and his family had lived in nearby Chappaqua, New York. [2] He was survived by his wife, Kathleen; two daughters; four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. [2]